I am diffidently a fan of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Bentley Little and Robert R. McCammon...so this story was written for me. It was written also for you if you love the work of any of these authors. The account is told from the point of view of 10-year-old Beau Jackson. It's what occurred on his last vacation on Gull Island off the coast of Georgia. This is not anything like the Hawaiian Islands. No lovely oasis in sight...never has been and never will be. It's an unhospitable, unwelcoming, sparsely populated, humid, hot and swampy mess, but his "granny" lives there in her large, creepy old house. Beau is not alone. His cousin, Sumter, (I never want to meet this kid), shares his summer on the island. To say Sumter is strange and a little "off", is an understatement. At times he's just downright disgusting. I actually had chills and shutters to some of his antics...and nothing usually bother me unless an animal is being mistreated. Beau always seems to suffer from Sumter's actions, from following behind him through prickly bushes to the larger escapades that Sumter draws him into. The two boys may seem like opposites, but they share a gift...a startling, vivid imagination. The adults in this story are a classic example of why some people should never be allowed to reproduce under any circumstances...so the boys are basically on their own, and they take full advantage of it. I love creepy, scary movies but they don't scare me...this book, Neverland,DID! What existed in that shack the boys played in had waited eons for just the right souls to come along...and the two boys were perfect for IT...an innocent one and a tainted one. Neverland is one of the most compellingly creepy, horrific, stories I've ever read, and I have read hundreds by some really good writers but this one is...I can't find a word that truly fits it. ( )

This book was in the book bag of novels received through an exchange with another reader. I have abandoned effort in trying to finish this novel. I persevered for several days but when you have limited time to read and multiple titles that you can't wait to read, it seemed silly to continue when at halfway through my only reaction to this novel was one of dread to pick it up again during my precious reading time. ( )

This book was slow to get to the point and preachy off the bat. There is definitely a religious tone to the novel that becomes confusing and convoluted as we spiral through the adventures of a couple of young kids on a family island in Georgia. I felt the the attempt to create chaos in the story led to chaotic writing that towards the end, when all hell was breaking loose, was very hard to follow and packed very little lunch. The urgency of the character and the situation was downplayed by time shifts from outside in the action to meanwhile in the house where the same action is affecting the other characters before heading off to the bathroom but without cohesion. As a movie this would be excellent and definitely a terrific horror flick! The imagery is brilliant and disgusting and nauseating but like many novelists trying to write LSD-esque scenes of confusion and fantasy, I felt that Clegg went too far into the confusion and struggled to bring it back on course settling with "he awoke in bed...." ( )

Douglas Clegg is a master of fantasy and imagination. THIS plot is nothing simple; it turns out to be creative ,and unpredictable as hell, and I stand with applause for the hours he must have spent brainstorming this one.

Neverland is fun, twisted, gripping. I fell in love with the characters, I weeped with them, I feared for them. The setting with the old house, the creepy shack, the woods - all amazing, beautiful, unnerving. The pace is quick when it should be, slower when its appropriate, and overall ends with a stunning conclusion. Clegg writes with a hand that holds talent, knowing how to work its stuff.

Read Neverland for a good time, an imaginative roll in the hay. You won't be dissapointed. ( )

Here we have the story of a very messed up family. First we get to know Beau, his twin sisters, baby brother and parents. Every summer they vacation on Gull Island at grandma's house. It isn't the best place to vacation, but that's all they can afford. We then get to meet Sumter and his parents. Sumter is one troubled kid. Those that come a dime a dozen. His games and way of behaving tell us that he is evil at heart. There's also grandma, who is more gone than here and who harbors a horrible secret. Summer goes by and the kids end up playing in an abandoned shack in the woods which Sumter names Neverland and where he incites his cousins to play evil games while worshipping a god of his creation called Lucy. The story unfolds with many casualties and gross events to come to a mildly disappointing ending. The last 100 pages get very predictable, boring and repetitive. Such a shame, since the rest of the book opened a good door for a decent ending. ( )